Customer Reviews

GoPro Digital HERO 3 Sports Wrist Camera

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

We purchased the 3MP in July 2007 for our trip to Hawaii. I chose this product over a camera-specific waterproof housing mainly because of the huge price differential (the Go Pro Hero was much cheaper, even the latest 3MP version). The latest 3MP version was also an added bonus in terms of picture quality expectations. For our vacation, I forgot to bring the instructions, but after some trial and error it was fairly easy to figure out. Trial and error also includes figuring out the appropriate focal point - I found out that shots taken around 3-4 ft or closer came out blurry. Battery life is also a major issue, but as long as you're aware of the short half-life and bring along plenty of AAA batteries, you'll be fine. As one reviewer elsewhere pointed out, video-taking uses up the most battery power.

One complication during our trip was the fact that one of the polycarbonate tabs that holds the clamp in place to maintain the seal snapped right off after only the 3rd use (i.e., 3rd time unclamping to take out the SD card to download onto my computer). Go Pro Hero Camera was actually extremely responsive in replacing the waterhousing without fuss. Upon receiving the replacement housing, it also became apparent that the original 2-tabbed clamping was a design flaw. The newer waterhousing version has a continuous plastic ridge to hold the clamp. I haven't tested this one out yet, but at least the design change makes sense.

One word on the quality of the photos - for underwater shots, the 2 most important factors for good pictures are water clarity and SUNLIGHT. Once you have those, the next most important resource is a software filter program. I didn't have access to my usual Photoshop, so I simply downloaded and used Picasa (version 2), which did a great job on 90% of the shots. Without the filtering program, you could barely see the fish in the underwater shots, but after running it through some simple filtering they were quite clear and with much better color.

Last but not least, I was lucky enough to have an extra 1GB SD card on our trip. The built-in 18 MB will keep you happy for about 10 minutes (without shooting videos); and if you can't readily dump your pictures/video into your computer, you're stuck. So do yourself a favor if and when you buy this camera: buy the extra SD card at the same time. It takes up to 2GB SD, which can be as cheap as $40+ on sale nowadays.

This camera does everything it says it will. I love it. I have used it to film kayak trips, and playing in the pool, it is great. Also, I had a small issue with the case, and I contacted GoPro, they had FANTASTIC customer service! They resolved my issue immediately and got me a new case sent out.

buy this camera, you can't lose for the $$.

You can't beat the handiness of a camera that straps to your wrist and is waterproof. It's so incredibly portable, and with a few steps, ready to snap pictures. You do need to buy a SD card (not included, around $40 for a 2GB) because the internal storage of the camera is not much. It will hold a 10sec video and a few pics, then it's full. I would also buy rechargable batteries for it.

The directions are ok, but not great. They don't go into troubleshooting, so it was hard for me to know when the camera was full or had taken a picture.

Once I conquered the storage issue, I had great success with the camera. The limitations are that it is difficult to frame the picture because the viewfinder is so small, there's no zoom, focus or flash, and there's no screen to view your shot. So you have to wait until you connect it to the computer to see what you got.

But if you need a camera to take hiking, snorkeling, running or whatever and don't want to risk damaging your camera, then it's great. It's not going to be a good party or indoor camera. It's not going to take pictures worthy of National Geographic- but it will capture your crazy outdoor adventures.

Finally, EVERYONE asks what IS that thing on your wrist!?! So it's a great conversation piece and icebreaker among other outdoor enthusiasists.

I am giving this four stars because for me it has been very useful. I've been teaching SCUBA for years. I found this camera to be a lot of help when I'm training studnets in a pool. I can film students performing exercises (and show it back to them if they are having a particular problem with a skill). The students also like looking at the videos of themselves in dive gear swimming around the pool. It provides an inexpensive way to critique students but it also lets the students say "Hey...that's me! I'm diving!"

I have also taken it on open water dives but if visibility is poor then the camera is useless. It worked out well on not-so-deep dives (to about 10 meters or less) on sunny days with good visibility. This is what it is: an inexpensive toy that can provide some useful videos to help with training, but it is also a light hearted way to have some fun and a few good laughs after a day of diving.

In two decades I've never bought a dive camera because it was one more thing to hassle with on dives and trips. This is inexpensive and simple to use. It leaves much to be desired for a serious photographer or someone who wants more quality in a camera, but for what I use it for it was well worth the price.

This little camera is a great deal. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to capture underwater fun on their vacation. If you want a serious still or video underwater camera you should look elsewhere (and it will cost you).

I bought it with the plan for using while snorkeling, scuba diving and swimming and have been pleased with the quality of all three. I didn't have high expectations on the quality but was pretty impressed when I got the video and stills onto my computer. They were large and crisp. I was able to capture some elusive barracuda off in the distance. The still pictures of the ocean floor (down 10-15' while snorkeling) were clear and bright.

They put a lot of thought into features that you might need (auto picture taking, triple shot, hold settings from previous sessions, easy to delete if needed) so I appreciate their anticipation of user needs. They can't cover every want, but they did well enough.

I do notice how consistently darker the video quality is than the photos and if you're doing low-light or deep diving in scuba, or snorkel on a very overcast day your videos may be hard to view. Pictures are much more forgiving.

It is very challenging to get your videos or pictures in frame properly so have a lot of cut off heads but with some editing you can work around this, usually. The viewfinder is tiny and hard to look through while the camera is strapped on your wrist.

I still would say that the quality of the overall product is impressive and I don't think there is anything close to it in terms of value.

Pros:
1. Inexpensive but well designed & constructed.
2. Good quality pictures and video (if the light conditions are decent)
3. Wrist mount makes it convenient to use and keep track of doing task-loading sports.
4. Seems durable though I've not maxed out the depth.

Cons:
1. Must remove camera from housing to get video out of it. Recommend getting a memory stick reader rather than dragging around yet another USB cord.
2. Video: Low light drags down quality. Indoors needs a lot of light!
3. Eats batteries pretty quickly. Recommend NiMH rechargables or you'll go through lots of alkalines.
4. Hard to get consistent video in-frame when strapped to wrist. Viewfinder is not all that helpful. But I'm not sure how they could fix this issue.

does not have the best resolution, but what do you expect for such little money.

amazing that it can capture audio in the water as well.

the camera does what they say it will.
I do recommend using in full light situations, as it does require a nice sunny day for the best results.

Jamie

Great Camera for the price. I used on a whitewater rafting trip and it took great pics and videos. I did have a problem with the camera after loaning to another passenger on the trip. IF YOU WANT A COMPANY WITH GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE - THIS IS THE CAMERA TO BUY!!! The company went well beyond customer service to not only replace camera but also helped in retrieving my pics from a bad SD Card.

The camera takes fair pictures for its size, but it is not waterproof. The case is waterproof, the camera is not. The directions are almost non-existant. If I did not have experience with digital cameras, I would probably have sent it back. It does not come with any memory card, as most digital cameras do. This is a digital "box camera". There is no zoom, preview screen, flash or settings. If you have a good computer program, you can manipulate the pictures, but you cannot see the pictures that were taken on it until it, or the memory chip, is connected to a computer or printer. If you want a very simple to use camera for situations where water is involved, and do not want to spend a lot of money, this camera will do the trick.

I saw this camera on sale during a 4th of July sale at a sporting store that was way out of town. It was 50% off. I looked at it and thought the camera will obviously not take good pictures or videos and will need alot of light to make things look decent. I could probably find it cheaper elsewhere if I looked online. So I went home, did some reseach on the internet and decided that I want it (for mountain biking, skiing, drag racing, etc). I went out of town again just to pick it up (savings negated by gas cost and my time).

That night I decided that since I'm going to walk around the block, I'm going to try out the digital hero. Put the batteries in and walked around. I was out for about 15 minutes, but I could not shut the thing off once I got home. I pulled the battery out and back in to reset it. Went to my computer to view the video and found a zero length file (it's corrupt). I tried taking short videos and that would cause the camera to lock up. The prospect of making that long journey back to the store for an exchange and/or a refund didn't sit well with me so I tried a few things. I took a few pictures, which seems to work. Some pics came out quite dark. I figured perhaps I had an SD card that it didn't like so I put another one in. Same issue - camera would lock up when taking videos. Pictures came out ok. If a took a few, the latter ones would be darker, even with the exact same scene. I had a hunch.. I then replaced the made in China batteries with Duracell brand battery.. Ah, that was it! I was able to take videos. If the prev batteries were good, then I'm expecting about 15 minutes or so with these Duracell batteries (maybe more) and it seems other have gotten about the same amount of time. Recording seems to drain the battery fast.

The pictures and videos are just ok, but I think daytime pictures would be decent (haven't gotten a chance to check it out yet).

I tried a 4GB sd card (knowing it probably won't work). The unit would not turn on with that card. In fact, the LCD look like it was on, but the display was blank (the lcd shimmered). So a 4GB card defintately will not work.

I am going to hardwire 3v dc to the unit so I can take it on long trips and use it as a car cam.

The product fills a niche market. It has an excellent waterproof case and does the job. I have to give this unit a 3 star because of the high battery consumption and the poor low light performance in both picture and video mode. It does have a few things I didn't expect: time lapse and burst mode photo mode which I was looking for in a higher end camera. I just could not bring myself to give it a 4 star. A more appropriate score would probably be 3.5. If you just a device that takes you tube quality type pictures, this is a good product considering the price I got it for.

It's a keeper for me. I have an HD camera so if I wanted something high quality, I will use that, but never in the water or reluctantly during skiing or mountain biking.

UPDATE 7/7: this thing sucks battery like no tomorrow. I was able to get less than 5 minutes of video recording, then it shut down (I'm not exactly sure how long, but it didn't last long). Of course the video was corrupt. I then proceeded to take a snapshot every 5 sec.. that work for 93 pics until the camera shut down. In video mode, the unit uses alot of power... i'm going to try some Energizer Lithium Battery, which a few people have success with. I'll be back..

UPDATE 7/9: got some generic nimh aaa. I can now take about 10-13 minutes of video before it stops (these are actual video times before the camera stops the recording. Files are no longer corrupt because there is enough juice for the camera to safely stop video recording). But I can continue taking pictures until the battery runs out... about 500-600 pics every 5 secs. I'm going to try some name brand nimh aaa. My goal is to be able to take an hour of video with a set of rechargeables.

UPDATE 7/15: do not get the energizer rechargeable nimh 900mah batteries. First charge, videos recording lasted less than 10 seconds. Second try I charged it up for over 12 hours and immediately put it into the Digital Hero 3 and got 3 minutes. I thought these brand name nimh batteries would last alot longer - apparently not. They're going back to the store. I'm going to try these again a few more time so they'll go through 3 full charge/discharge cycles before I consider these as poor!

UPDATE 8/2: I returned the Energizers and Ultralasts (900 and 1000mah, respectively). The Ultralast rechargeables lasted longer than the Energizers! I got the BC900 battery charger and the Engerizers show a capacity of about 600mah and a little higher for the Ultralast. I'm now using Duracell recharageables which show a capacity of about 950mah and seem to last the longest, although not spectacular at over 10 minutes and over 1000 pictures after it cannot take any more videos.

When I bought this camera, I kept in mind the low price tag and obviously the size and mobility of this thing. I ski, skateboard and surf, and this camera seemed ideal for catching footage that wouldn't be possible any other way (without spending a lot of money on a nicer camera and waterproof/shock proof casing). While the ski season is over, and I haven't gotten a chance to surf or ski with it yet, I have tested the waterproof casing and have taking lots of skating footage. The pictures come out alright, but don't expect anything to great. The colors can be off given the lighting, and the detail somehow doesn't quite look like 3 gigapixels. The case is waterproof as long as you clean the o-ring that helps seal the housing. The video mode is indeed the best quality of the
Go-Pro 3, as it gives relatively clean footage and the mic catches voices and loud noises. It records in AVI, and 55 minutes fits on a 2GB SD. The footage is nice looking, although I get a lot of frames where there are black squares that appear when I move the camera too violently or switch from dark to light quickly, or vice versa.
One of the biggest concerns I had before buying it, is that people had complained about the battery life. With NiMH rechargeable batteries full charged, the battery lasted more than an hour shooting regular shots. The longest video I'm gotten to record is 40 minutes. I'm sure it can record longer, I just haven't yet exhausted the batteries by recording videos. Lots of reviews online claim the camera only takes up to 5 minutes of footage before it kills the batteries. THIS IS A LIE. If you use the recommended batteries, and charge them before you use them, it has GREAT battery life!
Given the price tag and convenience of the Digital Hero 3, I would consider it a great buy! It does not by any means replace my real camera which I use for sightseeing, portraits, etc., but is very useful for water/extreme sports!